BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON ETHIOPIA

Facts & Figures
State: Republic
Prime Minister: Meles Zenawi (Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front Party)
Area: 1,16 million. km2
Population: 73 million
Currency: Birr

Ethiopian Millennium
12 September 2007 was the first day of 21st Century in Ethiopia. I visited Ethiopia in 2007 when the preparation were at it height – it was a peculiar feeling to see all the advertisement and the TV coverage of an event which had taken place 7.5 years earlier in the rest of the world.
In Ethiopia they use the Julian calendar whereas the majority of the world switched to the Gregorian several centuries ago. They operate with 12 months each of 30 days and 1 month of 5 days, hence the add ‘Ethiopia – 13 months of sunshine’ and ‘Travel to Ethiopia and come back 7.5 years younger’.

Religion
Ancient traditions within the Ethiopian orthodox church, in addition to the usage of the Julian calendar, manifests the strong traditions of Ethiopia. It feels as if you are being brought back to a bygone biblical age. An estimated 55 % of Ethiopians are Christians, 40% Muslims and the remaining practice traditional religions. The Ethiopian Orthodox church has evolved in isolation over long periods of time and therefore has developed unique features. Numerous days of fasting, subservience to church buildings and an extensive use of the cross are but a few of these. By participating in a church service in Ethiopia, you experience this first hand. Hours of chanting and singing by priest in traditional outfits surrounded by their congregation, the scent of incense and dense atmosphere.

Languages
There are 83 languages in Ethiopia. The largest ethnic group is the Oromo who make sup 40% of the population. The Amhara, who has dominated the country both culturally and politically, mare the second largest group of 21%. Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia. The third largest ethnic group is Tigray, 11%. The current prime minister, Meles Zenawi, belongs to this group.

Food
The national dish of Northern Ethiopia is injera which is taken with almost all meals. Injera is a large pancake made of teff, a type of grass grain and slightly fermented. It is served with different types of wet – spicy stews made of met and/or vegetables. Injera is eaten with the right hand. When an Ethiopian man wants to show respect to you, we prepares a mouthful of injera and wot and feeds it to you. We hope you look forward to your first injera experience.

Geography
The nucleus of Ethiopia is the highlands which raises into the north towards Eritrea and transfers in to lowlands towards the borders in the East, West and South. 80% of the population is settled in the highlands. The Rift Valley divides the highlands into East and West. Average elevation above sea level is 2400m although a sustain part of the central highlands contains many peaks of 3600-4000 m ASL. Ras Dahan (4620 m) is the highest point of the country. From one of the many lakes and deep river gorge, we see the source of the Blue Nile. The Rift Valley is situated at an average elevation of 1500 m ASL and is approximately 40 km wide. The valley consists of several large lakes and hot springs created by volcanic activity. Main rain season is from June to September.

History
One of Ethiopia’s greatest assets is its long and well documented history. Abyssinia which was the official name until 1941, stems from ancient Egyptian language and referred to the land south of Egypt. From 100 BC until 700 AD the Kingdom of Axum rule the lands and was a regional superpower controlling the red sea trade though it strong navy and many harbors. Christianity was accepted as stated religion in 3330 AD hence merging religious and political power.

In 1636, after centuries of mobile camps and kings, the court settled in Gondar after which the power entered the ‘age of princes’ where the power shifted constantly between rivals. This lasted until 18th century.1800-tallet. From 1855 to 1913 the land was rules by 3 emperors, Tewodros 2., Johannes 4. and Menelik 2 where forged a new and strong Ethiopia. Although several attempts to seize the country from Sudan, UK, Italy and Egypt – Ethiopia fought back and was never (really) colonized by outside forces. Eritrea was separated and became an Italian colony in 1896. The capital was moved to Addis Abeba in 1886.

In 1916 Ras Tafari, who was the official rule in the place of Menelik’s daughter, a political and economic modernization program which included a modern army, an reformed education system and the construction of a centralized administration. In 1930 he was crowned and received the name Haile Selassie. In 1936 Ethiopia was occupied by Italian troops we stayed until 1941 when the fascist Italian rule was eliminated by the Allied forces.

After the Second World War the discontent with the emperors and their oppression of Ethiopia grew and the opposition demanded democracy. In Eritrea the opposition started growing from 1962 when Haile Selassie annexed the area as a province of the Ethiopian Empire. Since 2WW Eritrea, partially due to its history as an Italian colony, has held a special status in the federation with Ethiopia.

In 1974 Haile Selassie was removed by a revolution started by a group of younger officers. A temporary military council, the Derg, was installed as ruling force and the parliament was dissolved. The Derg remained empower and disposed of the royal family. All the possession of the aristocracy was nationalized along side with private business and large land areas. Until 1977 the Derg was infiltrated by intern disputes and power struggles amongst different Marxist fractions. In 1979 Major Mengistu Haile Mariam won the bloody disputes and became the paramount leader of Ethiopia.

Ethiopia’s new allies, Soviet Union and Cuba, provided military training and economic support. With this, Mengistu was able to establish a socialistic inspired development program. Despite his efforts and questionable methods, he never managed to eliminate the immense poverty amongst the country’s 80% of the population living in rural areas. The discontent with Mengistu grew steady and was enforced by the infamous famine in 1980s. When the Soviet Union fell, Ethiopia lost its main military and economic support and Mengistu fled to Zimbabwe in May 1991. Eritrea declared independence in 1993.
The 1995 election saw a landslide victory by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front. Negaso Gidada became president and Meles Zenawi was installed as prime minister. The disputed 2005 election was won by Zenawi although it remains a sensitive subject as the state controlled media announced their victory before the vote counting was finalise. In 2010 Zenawi won another election and he is still Prime minister.